Unexpected
by beaute-ephemere
Summary: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy have to work together in class. This can't end well.. or can it? Houses Competition Round 8 Dramione One-Shot


**House : Slytherin**

 **Category : Short**

 **Prompt : Water balloon fight**

 **Word Count : 1309**

...

"Good afternoon, class. Today, we will be transfiguring glasses filled with water into water balloons. Not a drop must be spilled. Given the difficult nature of this task, you will work in pairs."

The students began whisper and glance at one another, already choosing their partners, when Professor McGonagall interrupted, " _I_ will be assigning your work partner." Her eyes drifted to Ron. "I am aware that some students take advantage of their friends' prowess to do strictly nothing."

While the rest of the class groaned, Hermione didn't seem to mind. Truth be told, the professor had a point; she was a little fed up with always helping Ron with all his work, and was looking forward to having a more appropriate partner.

However, as McGonagall began to call out name after name, dread began to form in Hermione's stomach. There were less and less students left and…. Surely not?

Hermione's worst fears were confirmed as Professor McGonagall suggested she go sit by Draco Malfoy, her new partner. _You're a Gryffindor,_ she thought, _be brave._ So, as she sat down she cleared her throat and held out her hand. "Listen, Malfoy. I-uh— there's no point in say— uhh— let's just focus on the assignment for now. Let's be civil for once."

The Slytherin's face contorted with disdain as he eyed Hermione's hand. "I'm not touching you, Granger, forget that." He sighed. "But I won't hex you so long as you don't mess up."

Hermione huffed, slightly embarrassed. "Fine."

Then, the pair got to work. Though their first try was better than their peers' attempts, it was still a failure, their glass turning into what was effectively a hollow ball, completely lacking the elasticity of a balloon.

"I told you not to mess up, Granger. Let me try," Draco sneered.

His attempt, however, was no more of a success: while the glass did somewhat resemble a balloon, the water had somehow disappeared.

"Great job, Malfoy," Hermione said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, as much as I hate to admit it, I think there's a reason we were paired up. We _need_ to work together." As Draco opened his mouth to protest, Hermione put a finger up to silence him. "I said we needed to work together, but I can assure you I don't want to anymore than you do. Now let's do this."

It took a few tries, but they finally managed to get it right. Impressed, McGonagall suggested they help the others. Turning to Hermione, she added, "I have to excuse myself for a few minutes. I trust you to watch over the class in my absence."

"Of course," the girl said, beaming. At that, Draco coughed, but it sounded a lot like "Suck-up", so Hermione turned and glared at him as the professor hurried from the room.

Afterwards, rather predictably, Draco went to help Pansy Parkinson, who had somehow managed to be paired up with Daphne Greengrass, while Hermione left to help Harry, who was paired up with Blaise Zabini.

As she approached, the two of them simultaneously said, "Thank Merlin."

Surprised, Harry turned to Blaise, who shrugged. "If I have to work with a Gryffindor, might as well be one with half a brain. Plus, just because I hang out with Draco doesn't mean I share his opinions on blood purity."

Hermione smiled and began to explain the finer points of the _Vitrum Aquasphera_ spell when she overheard a certain blond Slytherin talking to a certain pug-faced friend of his.

"Really, Pans'. I don't know how you're still struggling. I got it in no time. I would have done it faster if the Mudblood hadn't slowed me down."

Hermione turned a rather ugly shade of red before she regained her composure and turned to Harry. "Please excuse me for just a second." She pointed her wand at her successfully transfigured water balloon, levitating it above Draco and letting it drop on his platinum blonde head, thoroughly soaking him.

Livid, he glared at her. "You—"

"Whoops! Wand slipped. It's so difficult controlling your magic when you're muggle-born. Sorry!" she said sweetly, before turning back around to help Blaise and Harry.

"As I was saying, when you cast you just want to lev— MALFOY!" Hermione spun, incensed. While she'd been talking, Draco had flung the example water balloon sitting on McGonagall's desk at Hermione, drenching her in water.

¨Need some help, 'Mione?" Harry enquired politely.

"Gladly," she replied, gritting her teeth.

Blaise cast a calculating look at her. "I think I'll join your team, Granger. Never liked to lose."

Without a word, Theodore Nott crossed the room to reach Draco's side. Then he drew his wand and murmured, "If she's to have backup, so should you. Let's take down these lions."

Daphne nodded. "Let's do this."

As Harry and Blaise got the hang of the charm, Hermione flung more and more balloons at Draco, soaking not only him but a large part of the classroom. Quills and bags lay strewn every which way as students rushed from the room, seeking shelter in the corridor.

Soon, only six students remained in the classroom: Harry, Hermione, Blaise, Draco, Theo, and Daphne. However, Daphne was showing signs of wanting to leave, and after a particularly harsh barrage of water balloons, she gave in.

"I can't take it anymore! I'm out!" she cried, dodging one last balloon as she ran from the classroom.

"Good luck, guys. I'm gonna go help my girlfriend dry off," Blaise laughed, darting after Daphne. However, on his way out, he ran into none other than Professor McGonagall.

Gulping, he managed to squeeze past her into the corridor, quickly followed by Theo and Harry. Hermione and Draco didn't even bother moving, smart enough to realise they had been caught red-handed; there would be no way out now.

However, to the surprise of everyone, perhaps even the professor herself, Mcgonagall didn't yell, or even substract House Points.

"I'm going to leave now, come back in two minutes, and pretend I didn't see any of this," she said tiredly, already turning around. Privately, she thought it was wonderful to see a Slytherin and a Gryffindor hurling something other than insults and hexes at one another, and she didn't plan on jeopardizing that.

Alone, face to face, Draco and Hermione glared at each other. "Your fault," they both said simultaneously. Then, they began to laugh. After a few drying charms, when the room looked like a classroom again, McGonagall returned. Surveying the class, she decided she was too exhausted to teach just then; sometimes, being Deputy Headmistress _and_ Transfiguration teacher _and_ Head of House was just too much.

"We'll continue this lesson tomorrow," she sighed before sinking into her chair. As the students left one by one, Hermione stayed behind, visibly uncomfortable.

"Professor, I—"

"Don't apologise, Hermione. While I _never_ want you to do anything like this in my class again, it's nice to see you live a little. Now, you should get going. I need to rest my frazzled nerves."

Nodding, Hermione left. To her dismay, she noticed that neither Harry nor Ron had waited for her. The corridor was empty except for Draco Malfoy, who was fidgeting uncomfortably. He looked up, and when he saw her, walked over.

"Listen — uh — Granger… I — Good job in there," he mumbled, sticking his hand out.

Surprised, Hermione didn't react for a few moments. Sighing, Draco stuffed his hand back into his pocket. "It was a stupid idea, anyway," he muttered, more to himself than to her.

"Listen, I — if you ever want a study partner, Granger, floo me" he added, turning to leave.

When she looked back on that moment, she could never figure out why she did it. Why did she run after him? "Listen, Malf— Draco —"

And then he kissed her.

And she kissed him back.


End file.
